Showing posts with label nature. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nature. Show all posts

Friday, January 31, 2014

Fallow time...

After all the mandatory reading and writing I have to do for school - books and articles and commentaries...research papers and essays and reflections - I must confess I'm not feeling much desire to write in my spare time. But I will be graduating in May (if all goes well) and I hope my love of writing will come back to me once I'm finished school. In the meantime...here is a poem by a favourite poet (William Carlos Williams) and an image by a favourite photographer (me!)


Winter Trees

All the complicated details
of the attiring and
the disattiring are completed!
A liquid moon
moves gently among
the long branches.
Thus having prepared their buds
against a sure winter
the wise trees
stand sleeping in the cold.

~ William Carlos Williams

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Grateful for Living Waters


I'm sitting here feeling so incredibly grateful for the amazingly beautiful and wondrous world that surrounds me...for the loves of my life...for the path I am walking (leaping, crawling) toward ordered ministry...for the movement of the Spirit and the mystery of life. The following words by David Steindl-Rast, shared in a video by Louie Schwartzberg called Gratitude, really resonate in my soul.



“It's not 'just another day', it's the one day that was given to you today. It's given to you...it's a gift. It's the only day that you have right now, and the only appropriate response is gratefulness.”



“If you do nothing else but to cultivate that response to the great gift that this unique day is…if you learn to respond as if it were the first day in your life and the very last day, then you will have spent this day very well.”




“And on this day all the people you meet, all that life from generations and from so many places all over the world flows together and meets you here, like a life-giving water if you only open your heart and drink.”




“And so I wish you will open your heart to all these blessings and let them flow through you...that everyone you will meet on this day will be blessed by you...just by your eyes, by your smile, by your touch...just by your presence.”




“Let the gratefulness overflow into blessing all around you. Then it will really be a good day.”









Amen, brother. Amen.

Friday, November 2, 2012

Saturday Photohunt: Seasonal

It's been a long while since I've posted an entry...but I was meandering around my yard the other day taking pictures in the rain and thought I would share a glimpse of what the season looks like in Nova Scotia right now...what a blessing to be surrounded by such beauty!




Check out Sandi's Photohunt page to enjoy more seasonal offerings!


Tuesday, April 10, 2012

ABC Wednesday: M is for...

MEADOW :)

Meadows fill my soul with contentment and a feeling of belonging to the land...I want to run through them with wild abandon like I did as a child...fling myself down and roll around...breath deeply the scent of the ground...listen to the rustle of the breeze across the grass and the buzzy drone of insects...feel the sun on my body...sing thanks to God that I have the privilege and blessing to enjoy these wonderful corners of the earth.







Meander on over to the ABCW website and see where others have gone with the letter M!


Tuesday, January 31, 2012

ABCW: C is for...

This week's ABC Wednesday letter is C.

Carved out of an old tree stump in a local park...




 Carved into the sand by water flowing into the sea...



Carved on my heart are my two amazing daughters...



Have a wonderful Wednesday!! And have fun exploring what others have done with the letter C on the ABCW website!


Friday, January 27, 2012

Saturday photohunt: Fluffy

The Saturday Photohunt this week is FLUFFY.  Now I could post pics of my uber-fluffy big boy cat Winston...or I could post pics of some fluffy reading material (for which I am kind of thirsting, I must admit, since all I have read in months are textbooks!)

But instead I have decided to post some fluffy flora photos...









Azaleas in Halifax's Public Gardens



Fluffy trees and field near Cetona (sigh...Tuscany...)




Blossoms on a tree in the south end (aka home of the rich and famous, relatively speaking) of Halifax




Look! Fluffy trees! This is a spot in Umbria, somewhere between Montegabbione and Montegiove, that felt like an enchanted forest to Mom and I.







My mom's spectacular rhododendron bush





More plants in the Public Gardens. I really love the texture and shades of this plant...if anyone knows what it is, please share your knowledge by leaving a comment - thanks!








Pop on over to the Saturday Photohunt page
and see what other fluffy photos you can uncover!

Monday, July 4, 2011

The joys of June

 
This is a farm I pass on the way to the camper.  It is a gorgeous scene at all times, but especially so when the fields are aglow with dandelions.  I know dandelions are the bane of many people's existence, but frankly I love them!  So bright and sunny (well not so much when they go to seed, but then they are fun, fluffy balls, so they are still ok in my books!

One day, coming home from the camper, I got stuck behind the Rawdon Days parade.  I puttered along, feeling irritated at the slow pace and wishing the parade would pull over and let the very long line of traffic go past.  But then I came alongside these horses, who were circling round and round in their pasture...and my spirits were lifted by their grace and beauty!
Happy face in my grilled cheese sandwich...made for me with love by Dave.  How cute is that?!
The delicate beauty of a lady's slipper.  A type of orchid, these gorgeous flowers are apparently very rare in Nova Scotia, to the point where it is illegal to pick them, but I stumble across them from time to time.  I had my camera with me when I spotted this patch, so was thrilled to take some photos.
Fun and foolishness on the links during our annual staff day (which is the only time I golf, although turns out I'm not half bad at it!)
A young man who works on my floor gave me these "wish you well in your future journey" flowers.  I was quite touched by this sweet gesture.

Valerie and I spent a wonderful day touring around the Valley.  We stopped into the Just Us fair trade coffee museum, and the Grand Pre winery (where I am standing in the photo.)  Also had a fantastic lunch at Rosie's in Wolfville (chicken quesadilla and salad, greek for me, spinach for Val, both were yummy!!)  We wound up back at the camper for a night of conversation and laughter around the bonfire.



Biggest moment of the month: being received as a Candidate for (ordained) Ministry in the United Church of Canada - whoooohooo!!! 
It was pretty awesome having my soul sister preside over the service! :)  I'm glad we were able to have it before she leaves. (Valerie accepted a call to another church beginning in Sept.  Will be odd not to worship together every Sunday.  Of course, we wouldn't be sharing worship much longer anyway since I'll soon have a student field placement. We'll continue to share our lives, of course, just not our church!)


And I even got presents! :)  Valerie gave me a student minister survival kit: a bucket (for when the storms of life are raging and my boat begins to sink!) filled with a variety of helpful items.  I especially like the Polly Pocket kit for me to play with when my inner child needs tending to, the finger tip laser lights for when I've burned the candle out at both ends, and made-in-Italy pasta to remind me of the place that makes my heart sing!! Oh and the puppy hand puppet says "I love you...I love you", to remind me that I am surrounded by the love of my faith family wherever I go.




And those were some of the highlights of my June - along with the engagement of my beautiful Sara (which news I shared a couple entries ago) and my darling Moira's most excellent final marks (such as 94 on her final math exam, my kid is a brainiac!!)

July will bring my last day at work, as I leave behind a 20 odd year accounting career that has begun to suck the life out of my soul.  (To be honest, my heart and mind have already left the building, just waiting for my body to exit as well!)  Shortly thereafter I head off to bella Italia with my mom, a perfect break between the old life and my new beginning!!

Sunday, June 19, 2011

A walk in the park...

The flowers and foliage in Halifax's Public Gardens were spectacular last week!!















I took the above photos while out for a lunch time walk with my sister, Lynn:

Monday, January 3, 2011

NY at the camper...the nature scenes :)

Here are some photos I took around the campground as the light from 2010 began to fade...





















And a few more taken in the light of morning, and a brand new year...I am usually the first one up at the camper and have really come to enjoy my moments of solitude and prayer, sitting by the still waters of this lovely little lake.





















Not sure what kind of bird left these footprints...thought all the water birds had long since migrated (?)






A recent windstorm had taken its toll and brought down a few trees...I tried to walk across the first one, but the snow on top was too slippery, so I hopped off before I lost my footing and got tangled in the branches on the sides!

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